Analysis of Emily Dickinson´s We Grow Accustomed to the Dark and Robert Frost´s Acquainted with the Night

876 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Compare and contrast between robert frost and emily dickinson as a poet

Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost are both very distinguished poets in America. Dickinson lived in the mid 1800s and was an introvert in Massachusetts for most of her life. Frost was alive in the 1900s and lived most of his life in Massachusetts. Even though both are from different points in history, they have similar themes of isolation and nature in the their writing. In Frost’s “Acquainted with the Night” and Dickinson’s “We grow Accustomed to the Dark” have to do with darkness and night. In most poetry the night is symbolic of the darker aspects of human nature. For all types of people darkness means something different. These authors each carry a unique view of the night through the personas of their poems as well as the applying imagery and structure.
Dickinson has strong imagery, distinct structure, and a point of view that presents the concern related to darkness. Starting with “we,” Dickinson allows the reader to share the same feeling of nervousness as the author by entering into the unknown that the darkness brings together. Darkness is something one must alter

to “grow accustomed to” (Dickinson 1). Darkness leaves the reader feeling “uncertain” in the beginning, but our uncertainty turns into bravery as Dickinson’s tone modifies when our vision becomes “fit to the Dark.” When one alters themselves to the surroundings, we “meet the Road—erect”(Dickinson 8) just as we meet challenges of life-prepared. An innovator may “hit a Tree / Directly in the Forehead”(Dickinson 14-15) but the problem may be easy to overcome. Eventually, as “Darkness alters”(Dickinson 17) or “sight / Adjusts... / Life steps almost straight”(Dickinson 18-20). This change in attitude from nerves to inspiration helps aid the dashes which slows t...

... middle of paper ...

...med the time was neither wrong nor right. / I have been one acquainted with the night.”(Frost 13-14) to talk about that at some point we must all experience the night he has described in the poem.
In “We Grow Accustomed to the Dark” and “Acquainted with the Night” the darkness or night is the most prominent topic throughout the poems but have different meanings. While both poets address this topic in their poems, Dickinson transitions from an attitude of nerves to one of inspiration, while Frost turns to the night as a getaway from harsh society. The night is used in both as negative symbol. The use of imagery and structure are very important to help get the message of darkness across to the readers. Even though the authors have a similar theme, Frost is specific and to the point, while Dickinson’s makes her poetry more broad and can relate to a variety of readers.

Show More
Related

  • Differences In Night And We Grow Accustomed To The Dark By Elie Wiesel

    703 Words  | 2 Pages

    For instance, in the second stanza of “We grow accustomed to the Dark,” the narrator states, “A moment - We uncertain step / For newness of the night - / Then - fit our Vision to the Dark - / And meet the Road - erect -” (Dickinson 5-8). We are shy and uncertain of what the world has to offer for us when first facing an obstacle. However, as we grow more and more prepared for the obstacle, we gain confidence, both in handling that obstacle and in future encounters of the world to come. Another example of this factor would be in the fourth stanza, in which the narrator states, “The Bravest - grope a little - / And sometimes hit a Tree / Directly in the Forehead -” (Dickinson 13-15). In society, we always see and hear stories about feats of bravery and heroes. We try to emulate them and be like them, even when it is hard. Though with this effort of emulation, we will eventually be successful in molding our view of the world to be seen through bravery. In turn, when we experience new obstacles, we also experience changes in our view of the

    Read More

  • Compare Five A. M. And Five Flights Up

    1370 Words  | 3 Pages

    The speaker in “Five A.M.” looks to nature as a source of beauty during his early morning walk, and after clearing his mind and processing his thoughts along the journey, he begins his return home feeling as though he is ready to begin the “uphill curve” (ln. 14) in order to process his daily struggles. However, while the speaker in “Five Flights Up,” shares the same struggles as her fellow speaker, she does little to involve herself in nature other than to observe it from the safety of her place of residence. Although suffering as a result of her struggles, the speaker does little to want to help herself out of her situation, instead choosing to believe that she cannot hardly bare recovery or to lift the shroud of night that has fallen over her. Both speakers face a journey ahead of them whether it be “the uphill curve where a thicket spills with birds every spring” (ln. 14-15) or the five flights of stares ahead of them, yet it is in their attitude where these two individuals differ. Through the appreciation of his early morning surroundings, the speaker in “Five A.M.” finds solitude and self-fulfillment, whereas the speaker in “Five Flights Up” has still failed to realize her own role in that of her recovery from this dark time in her life and how nature can serve a beneficial role in relieving her of her

    Read More

  • Dickinson and Her religion

    1059 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dickinson’s Christian education affected her profoundly, and her desire for a human intuitive faith motivates and enlivens her poetry. Yet what she has faith in tends to be left undefined because she assumes that it is unknowable. There are many unknown subjects in her poetry among them: Death and the afterlife, God, nature, artistic and poetic inspiration, one’s own mind, and other human beings.

    Read More

  • Modern Frost

    1980 Words  | 4 Pages

    Frost is far more than the simple agrarian writer some claim him to be. He is deceptively simple at first glance, writing poetry that is easy to understand on an immediate, superficial level. Closer examination of his texts, however, reveal his thoughts on deeply troubling psychological states of living in a modern world. As bombs exploded and bodies piled up in the World Wars, people were forced to consider not only death, but the aspects of human nature that could allow such atrocities to occur. By using natural themes and images to present modernist concerns, Frost creates poetry that both soothes his readers and asks them to consider the true nature of the world and themselves.

    Read More

  • Do not go gentle into that good night

    780 Words  | 2 Pages

    know dark is right” (4). “Wild men. sing the sun in flight/do not go gentle into that good night” (10,12). “Eyes.blaze like meteors” (14). Thomas uses examples of different characters, and how they, too, find ways to keep fighting the oncoming of death.

    Read More

  • Use Of Diction In Acquainted With The Night

    1202 Words  | 3 Pages

    Frost’s application of diction in “Acquainted With the Night” expresses the meaning that hard times provides isolation through key words that provide the audience with proof that the speaker is communicating a detached mood. In line 1, “acquainted,” is a vital use of diction to show the meaning. The word acquainted means to know very well. When the speaker is saying he is “acquainted with the night” in line 1, he is indicating that he is familiar with the lonely night. By being “acquainted” with darkness, or the night, in his life, the speaker is illustrating how being in an isolated state of life is not new to him. The meaning of detached feelings because of hardships is revealed

    Read More

  • Coul A Strong Language Of Nathaniel Hawthorn's

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    The author demonstrates his use of high level language in his poem to support his claim about the dark seeking future. The point of view in this poem is very precisely straightforward towards the future the dark is waiting for all of us. The title in the poem is effective because of the firm words with a lot of meaning behind their meaning. "

    Read More

  • Ghost House

    656 Words  | 2 Pages

    Night comes and the day changes. The speaker has a tone that portrays the hurt and dark feeling of a soul that is absent from the body. Night is a transition over time that helps the speaker feel safe. The night aids in the sight of the stars that the speaker is standing under.

    Read More

  • Compare Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night And Because I Could Not Wait For Death

    1435 Words  | 3 Pages

    The two poems, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night”, by Dylan Thomas and, “Because I Could Not Wait for Death”, by Emily Dickinson, we find two distinct treatments on the same theme, death. Although they both represent death, they also represent it as something other than death. Death brings about a variety of different feelings, because no two people feel the same way or believe the same thing. The fact that our faith is unknown makes the notion of death a common topic, as writers can make sense of their own feelings and emotions and in the process hope to make readers make sense of theirs too. Both Dickinson and Thomas are two well known and revered poets for their eloquent capture of these emotions. The poems both explore death and the

    Read More

  • What Are The Similarities Between Emily Dickinson And Edgar Allan Poe

    1816 Words  | 4 Pages

    Though these authors looked like twins lived during the same era, examining their literature demonstrates that they had little influence on one another. The parallels between Dickinson and Poe include their dark Romantic subject matter, though Dickinson is considered a Modernist, and their use of first-person narrators who display drastic psychological states under the presence of death. Aside from these indistinct similarities, they have many differences in how they write about life and death. In “Because I could not stop for Death,” Dickinson characterizes mortality as a guide to the afterlife, while Poe portrays death as intimidating in “The Tell-Tale Heart” and like a thief in “Annabel Lee.” In addition to this, Poe’s illustration of nature in “The Raven” is also darker than Dickinson’s view in “Nature is what we see.” Dickinson believes nature is godlike and shows more of a Romantic view of nature than Poe, who uses symbols of birds to connect the outdoors with mortality. When considering these works, Poe is a more dark, Anti-Transcendentalist writer compared to Dickinson. Further, he writes short stories and poems that horrify the reader while Dickinson writes dynamic, unorthodox poetry that is difficult to compare to other writers. The eccentric minds of these authors is ultimately expressed in their provocative literature that continues to influence writers

    Read More

  • Life and Death in Poetry

    2084 Words  | 5 Pages

    The first line in the poem, “I have been one acquainted with the night.” (Frost) – suggests that Frost, or the personified character in the poem states that he has met darkness. This does not describe death, more so trials and tribulations in life that we have all faced. There doesn’t need any specifics to this, simply because not everyone’s life goes along the same track or path. The second stanza, “I have walked out in rain – and back in rain.” – is letting us know that Frost has been in and out of sadness and depression. A metaphor for such sadness could be likened to rain. The next two lines give a better description of how this poem is a better representation of how difficult life can be for us all.

    Read More

  • Emily Dickinson And Robert Frost Comparison

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost both think that individuality is very important to a person equally like Ralph Emerson. Although they may have a lot in common these poets are different in many ways. Both Frost and Dickinson were American poets and were both from New England. A big similarity between Frost and Dickinson both talk about death. Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost both talk about the power of nature in their poetry. Frost and Dickinson have a reasonable evidence on why human beings should live life to their own agenda but, what if that person cannot stop living somebody else dreams? How can these poems help people break away for society and become a strong confidence individual person?

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis of Emily Dickinson's Poetry

    1056 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imagery is a big component to most works of poetry. Authors strive to achieve a certain image for the reader to paint in their mind. Dickinson tries to paint a picture of ?death? in her own words. Thomas A. Johnson, an interpretive author of Dickinson's work, says that ?In 1863 Death came into full statue as a person. ?Because I could not stop for Death? is a superlative achievement wherein Death becomes one of the greatest characters of literature? (Johnson). Dickinson's picture to the audience is created by making ?Death? an actual character in the poem. By her constantly calling death either ?his? or ?he,? she denotes a specific person and gender. Dickinson also compares ?Death? to having the same human qualities as the other character in the poem. She has ?Death? physically arriving and taking the other character in the carriage with him. In the poem, Dickinson shows the reader her interpretation of what this person is going through as they are dying and being taken away by ?Death?. Dickinson gives images such as ?The Dews drew quivering and chill --? and ?A Swelling of the Ground --? (14, 18). In both of these lines, Dickinson has the reader conjure up subtle images of death. The ?quivering an chill? brings to the reader's mind of death being ...

    Read More

  • Robert Frost

    653 Words  | 2 Pages

    Frost explores a different aspect of life and death with his poem, Acquainted With the Night. "Acquainted With the Night belongs with a group of dark poems in a section subtitled Fiat Knox (let there be night), an ironic allusion to Fiat Lux (let there be light), the divine command in Genesis, when God created the heaven and the earth" (Meyers194). This poem is the story of a person who walks at night, silently watching everything happen around them. I seemed confused with the whole concept of walking the night away, until I reread the poem and discovered a possible translation. " When far away an interrupted cry, Cam...

    Read More

  • The Theme of Death in Poetry

    829 Words  | 2 Pages

    Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson are two Modern American Poets who consistently wrote about the theme of death. While there are some comparisons between the two poets, when it comes to death as a theme, their writing styles were quite different. Robert Frost’s poem, “Home Burial,” and Emily Dickinson’s poems, “I felt a Funeral in my Brain,” and “I died for Beauty,” are three poems concerning death. While the theme is constant there are differences as well as similarities between the poets and their poems.

    Read More

More about Analysis of Emily Dickinson´s We Grow Accustomed to the Dark and Robert Frost´s Acquainted with the Night

Open Document